A New Non-Human Primate Model of Desiccating Stress-Induced Dry Eye Disease

Dry eye disease (DED), a multifactorial ocular surface disease, is estimated to affect up to 34% of individuals over 50 years old. Although numerous animal models, including rodents and rabbits, have been developed to mimic the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in the dry eye, there is a lack of non-human primate (NHP) models, critical for translational drug studies. Here, we developed a novel desiccating stress-induced dry eye disease model using rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were housed in a controlled-environment room for 21 to 36 days under humidity, temperature, and airflow regulation. Following desiccating stress, NHPs demonstrated clinical symptoms similar to those of humans, as shown by increased corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) and decreased tear-film breakup. Moreover, corticosteroid treatment significantly reduced CFS scoring, restored TFBUT, and prevented upregulation of tear proinflammatory cytokines as observed in dry eye patients following steroid treatment. These close resemblance of clinical symptoms and treatment responses to those of human DED patients provides great translational value to the NHP model which could serve as a clinically relevant animal model to study the efficacy of the new potential treatment for DED.